Disaster vulnerability is rapidly increasing on a global scale, particularly for those populations which are the historical clients of the social work profession. These populations include the very young and very old, the poor, ethnic and racial minorities, and those with physical or mental disabilities. Social workers are increasingly providing services in disasters during response and recovery periods, and are using community interventions to reduce disaster vulnerability. There is a need for a cogent theory of vulnerability and research that addresses improved community disaster practice...

Measurement refers generally to the process of assigning a numeric value to, or ordering characteristics or traits of, entities under study. Measurement is necessary for building and testing theory, specifying problems, and defining goals. It is arguably one of the most important and diffcult tasks in social work research. Social work researchers who are not expert in developing, selecting, and using measures will not be able to contribute maximally to the social work knowledge base. Such knowledge and skills related to measurement ultimately determines the extent to which social work...

Disaster vulnerability is rapidly increasing on a global scale, particularly for those populations which are the historical clients of the social work profession. These populations include the very young and very old, the poor, ethnic and racial minorities, and those with physical or mental disabilities. Social workers are increasingly providing services in disasters during response and recovery periods, and are using community interventions to reduce disaster vulnerability. There is a need for a cogent theory of vulnerability and research that addresses improved community disaster practice...